carrying out a risk assessment, to identify and address health and safety hazards arising from its installation, use and maintenance

following manufacturer's recommendations for its use and maintenance

arranging regular inspections or examination by a competent person, where necessary

ensuring staff are trained and competent

taking reasonable steps to ensure new work equipment complies with the relevant European requirements for safe design and construction

In addition, you must not use, or permit the use of, unsafe work equipment. You must also ensure that dangerous work equipment is not used by untrained people. The only exception is those undergoing training, who must be supervised by a trained, competent person.

Common hazards

The following examples of hazards associated with using and maintaining work equipment need to be considered as part of your risk assessment.

Hazardous agents

Inspection and maintenance of work equipment

You need to inspect and maintain work equipment to
ensure it is safe to use and any deterioration in its
condition is detected and remedied before it becomes
dangerous. You should regularly inspect equipment if
there is any significant risk to users or others through
its installation or use. The result of the inspection
should be recorded and a record kept. People who carry
out the inspection need to be competent and know what to
check and know when the condition has deteriorated. HSAS
can provide advice or you can follow our easy to use
guides on common equipment found in the office.

Further information

Safe use of lifting equipment

There are additional legal requirements for lifting equipment used for work. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations cover any equipment used at work for lifting or lowering loads and the attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it. Examples are passenger lifts, forklift trucks, hoists, mobile elevating work platforms, and vehicle inspection platform hoists. It also includes rope access and positioning systems, such as that used in arboriculture, window cleaning and entertainment. The definition also includes lifting accessories such as chains, slings, eyebolts etc.

The Regulations require that lifting equipment and accessories are:

suitable and strong enough for its intended use

positioned to prevent risk of injury from the equipment or the load

visibly marked with relevant safety information, such as its safe working load and, where relevant , its suitability for lifting people